Making sense (and, sometimes, nonsense) out of Current News, Issues, Politics

Saturday, August 30, 2008

McCain Gives Women Hope

With Sarah Palin as John McCain's V.P. pick, women may finally have a chance at the Presidency within a few, short years. Of course this assumes that John McCain makes it to the Presidency; does well; and, like a lot of V.P.'s, she is able to run and win the Presidency. Women had their hopes dashed when Obama won over Hillary Clinton and, then, put Joe Biden, not a woman, on the ticket. Now, those disaffected Hillary Clinton voters now have a place to go. Even if McCain only gets 10 percent of the Hillary backers, this may be enough to put John McCain over the top against Obama.

Sarah Palin, like John McCain, is a maverick in her own right. She has bucked her party to do what she thinks is right. She has fought big oil and did not cozy up to it like the left would have you believe about Bush/Cheney. Like McCain, she is a "Teddy Roosevelt" kind of environmentalist. She is an environmental realist and not some kind of enviro-nut. She believes in drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge; but, doing it safely and cleanly. Beyond that, however, her stand on the environment could appeal to moderate "greens" in this country.

On typically Democratic issues, she a lot of pluses.

First, she was a card carrying union worker in the past. That's right, there are actually Republicans in the unions (Oh, by the way...Contrary to popular belief, there are actually liberals in our armed forces; and, they aren't all gay!). Her husband is currently a union member working the oil field of Alaska's North Slope. Her mother and father were both union workers. And, to top things off, her dad was a union teacher. Of course, being a woman, she can bring women's issues to the table. In fact, in many ways she almost looks like a Democrat.

But make no mistake about it, Palin is a true Republican which should help John McCain with his own base. She is pro-life and pro-gun and a strict spending conservative. Further, she represents "change" because she is, like John McCain, for government reform and against wasteful spending. Tax cuts and not tax increases are her priority. Like McCain, she has crossed the aisle to get the job done. Her gubernatorial cabinet in Alaska is comprised of both Democrats as well as Republicans.

As usual, the Democrats are already trying to paint Palin as inexperienced. So, I guess we have a choice. With Barack Obama and Joe Biden, you have the choice of a rookie as President with V.P. who is probably better able to be the President than Barack, himself. For McCain/Palin, you get experience in John McCain and someone that is somewhat inexperienced as a politician but has already achieved an elected office as the chief executive of the State of Alaska. Prior to that, she managed a city's affairs as the mayor. In both cases, she had people, budget, and operational responsibilities. No Senator, including McCain, can boast that on their curriculum vitae. Actually, Sarah Palin has held some kind of public office since 1992. That's 4 years longer than Barack has been in any public office. I really don't think the Democrats want to push the "experience" thing with their still-in-diapers choice of Barack Obama.

I think McCain's choice of Palin is excellent. It will disarm any attacks against her because such attacks will just open old wounds that were created during the Obama defeat and treatment of Hillary Clinton. Sarah brings executive experience and a very apparent ability to fast-track to the top. And, most importantly, she will probably skim off some yet-to-be-determined disaffected Hillary voters.